Widower Sues Fire Department For Failure To Transport Wife: The surviving husband of a 53-year-old woman who had been suffering from COVID-19 for weeks when she suddenly took a turn for the worse and was experiencing shortness of breath and a pounding heart, called 911 and asked the operator to send an ambulance to take his wife to the hospital. Instead of sending an ambulance, a firetruck and firefighters showed up at the couple’s house. The fire department captain and firefighters thought that the woman was just like every other COVID-19 patient and decided that she did not need an ambulance. The husband was distraught regarding his wife’s condition and decided to drive her himself to the hospital (the firefighters helped bring the woman to her husband’s truck for the 10-minute trip to the hospital).
The wife emotionally asked her husband during the trip to the hospital when they would arrive. Once the husband got to the hospital and found a wheelchair to use to transport his wife into the emergency department, he saw that her eyes had glassed over and he knew that she was gone: “Her eyes were glassed over, and I knew. I went, ‘Oh my God! Oh, no!’ And I just went primal.”. His wife was officially pronounced dead about 40 minutes later.
A hospital worker familiar with the circumstances reportedly complained to the Phoenix Fire Department. The Phoenix Fire Department concluded its investigation in March. The Phoenix Fire Department’s internal investigation found that the captain and one firefighter were in violation of patient care and consent policies because, in part, they did not have the wife sign a form that is required if a patient refuses an ambulance. The investigator stated that he was unable to establish sufficient evidence to prove that the responding fire department crew denied an ambulance to transport the woman to the hospital. The woman’s husband stated: “You should only have to ask once.” After reviewing the report, the husband decided to file a notice of claim, the precursor to a lawsuit, against the city of Phoenix for wrongful death.
Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona President Bryan Jeffries stated in response to a question regarding whether some Phoenix paramedics have improperly failed to transport by ambulance: “That never happens. If somebody wants to go to the hospital, we are obligated to take them to the hospital without question.” But he also said, “If we were to send them all to the emergency room, then our hospitals would just be completely overrun.”
If you or a family member were injured due to the medical negligence of a paramedic in Arizona or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find an Arizona medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your possible paramedic negligence claim for you, and represent you or your family member in a paramedic malpractice case, if appropriate.
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